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Over their decade-plus career, Chicago instrumental trio Russian Circles have toured with Tool, collaborated with Chelsea Wolfe and won comparisons to Mogwai, associations that all make sense when you listen to the band’s new album, Guidance, which is due out August 5th. (The record is available for pre-order here now.) Like the music of the aforementioned artists, the album – the group’s sixth – is moody, dense and dynamic, the gripping soundtrack to an un-filmed drama. Above, you can listen to the second track from the LP, and the first to be released, “Vorel.”

“All our songs fluctuate between trying to wrangle some sort of order out of ugliness and rendering some sort of beauty out of existential despair, and we usually wind up touching upon both approaches within any given song,” says bassist Brian Cook. “I suppose ‘Vorel’ leans a little heavier towards the former.”

Guitarist Mike Sullivan adds, “‘Vorel’ has a sense of melody and underlying dissonance that we gravitate towards in our songwriting. It’s a great insight to the dynamics found on Guidance and really shows the strengths of the recording process with [Converge guitarist] Kurt Ballou; this was our first time working with him and it was an impactful experience.”

Russian Circles will tour in support of Guidance this summer; check out dates below.